When to go to Sarlat and the Périgord Noir?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: May to June and September to October
At a glance
Why go to Sarlat and the Périgord Noir?
Sarlat is one of those towns you come to for a day and end up staying three nights. The old centre, rescued from ruin in the 1960s by the Malraux law, packs 73 protected monuments into an area you can cross on foot in ten minutes. But it is when you come back in the evening, as the shops close and the stone lights up, that you grasp just how dense this setting is.
The other reason is geography: the Dordogne flows eight kilometres to the south, and along some fifteen kilometres of valley come Beynac, Castelnaud, Marqueyssac, La Roque-Gageac and Domme in turn. Beynac, Castelnaud, La Roque-Gageac and Domme all carry the Plus Beaux Villages de France label. Everything lies within half an hour's drive, so you can switch sights without ever packing your bags, and even see the lot from the water, by canoe or gabare.
Finally, the Périgord Noir is best discovered at the table. The Saturday market, winter truffles, foie gras, walnuts and ceps set the rhythm of the year, and the farm inns still serve menus that have barely changed. If you are after prehistory too, Lascaux IV and Les Eyzies are less than 30 minutes to the north: Sarlat makes a handy base for both valleys.
Map of Sarlat and the Périgord Noir: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Sarlat old town
- Marqueyssac Gardens
- Château de Castelnaud
- Château de Beynac
- La Roque-Gageac
- Domme
How much does a trip to Sarlat and the Périgord Noir cost?
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €55-80 a day | campsite or small hotel in the centre, picnic bought at the market, free villages and Barre de Domme, one castle or garden a day. |
| Comfort | €110-160 a day | characterful hotel in Sarlat, one Périgord restaurant a day, Marqueyssac, Castelnaud and Beynac, a gabare trip and half a day's canoeing. |
| Premium | €250 and up a day | four-star hotel with a pool on the banks of the Dordogne, fine dining, a candlelit evening at Marqueyssac and a hot-air balloon flight over the valley. |
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, but keep some cash for markets and certain producers. Car parks in the valley villages charge in season.
Is Sarlat and the Périgord Noir safe?
The region poses no particular safety concerns, but the valley calls for care in summer. The roads are narrow and winding, shared with bikes, camper vans and pedestrians at the entrance to villages. When canoeing, a life jacket is compulsory and the Dordogne can rise fast after storms upstream: follow the hire outfits' instructions. Cobbled lanes and castle stairs are slippery in the rain. Lastly, car parks at the busiest sites attract the odd theft from vehicles: leave nothing on show.
What to see and do in Sarlat and the Périgord Noir
- Sarlat old town
- Sarlat market
- Marqueyssac Gardens
- Château de Castelnaud
- Château de Beynac
- La Roque-Gageac and its gabares
- Domme
- Canoe from Vitrac to Beynac
Sarlat old town
Sarlat's conservation area, created in 1964, was the first to benefit from the Malraux law, which explains the state of the centre today: in the 1950s, many houses were falling into ruin. The town is cut in two by the Traverse, a street driven through in the 19th century; to the east, the oldest quarter gathers Saint-Sacerdos Cathedral, rebuilt from the 16th century onwards on the former abbey church, the Jardin des Enfeus and the Lantern of the Dead, a conical 12th-century tower whose exact purpose is still debated. Opposite the cathedral, the birthplace of Étienne de La Boétie, Montaigne's friend, shows off a richly carved Renaissance façade. The streets then climb towards Place de la Liberté, Place aux Oies with its three bronze geese, and the deconsecrated Sainte-Marie church, which the architect Jean Nouvel turned into a covered market with a panoramic lift giving a 360-degree view over the stone-slab roofs. Every summer Sarlat hosts the Jeux du Théâtre festival, one of the oldest in France.
Marqueyssac Gardens
The Marqueyssac estate occupies a long limestone spur in the commune of Vézac, between Beynac and La Roque-Gageac. Its 19th-century owner, Julien de Cerval, back from Italy, began planting box and cypress here in 1861, and it is this box, today 150,000 hand-clipped shrubs, that forms the billowing shapes now the hallmark of the place. The estate stayed private until 1996; opened to the public in 1997, it ranks among the most visited sites in the Dordogne. The paths, more than 6 kilometres in all, run beneath holm oaks to the belvedere, 130 metres above the river, where the view takes in Beynac, Castelnaud, Fayrac and La Roque-Gageac. A pavilion displays an allosaurus skeleton acquired in 2016, huts and a climbing trail keep children busy, and on Thursdays in July and August the candlelit evenings line the paths with some 2,000 candles. Come at opening time in summer: the shade is still cool and the paths almost empty.
Château de Castelnaud
Castelnaud stands on a promontory above the confluence of the Dordogne and the Céou, facing Beynac. The 13th-century fortress, enlarged up to the 16th century, changed sides several times during the Hundred Years' War, while Beynac stayed French: the two castles face each other barely a few kilometres apart. Restored from the 1960s onwards, it houses the Museum of Medieval Warfare, which displays weapons, armour and full-size reconstructed siege engines. On the barbican, a trebuchet, a mangonel and a bricole show the mechanics of an assault, and firing demonstrations take place in season. Castelnaud is open every day of the year, with no booking needed, and a combined ticket is available with the Marqueyssac Gardens, three kilometres away. For photos, the best viewpoint on the castle's silhouette is down below, from the valley road.
Château de Beynac
Beynac sits on the edge of a limestone cliff that drops sheer into the Dordogne, and it was this position that made it one of the four baronies of the Périgord. The castle dates mostly from the 12th century, with additions up to the 17th century; Richard the Lionheart occupied it, and it stayed on the French side during the Hundred Years' War, facing English-held Castelnaud. The visit, about an hour long, takes in the Hall of the Estates, the chapel decorated with wall paintings and the kitchens before reaching the top of the keep, whose view over the valley earns three stars from the Michelin Green Guide. The village below tumbles in cobbled lanes down to the river, where the gabares set off. The castle opens all year round, every day, and until 9pm in July and August: the last hours of the day bring the finest light and far fewer people. If you arrive from the top, the car park is a minute from the entrance; from the waterside, the climb takes a quarter of an hour.
La Roque-Gageac and its gabares
La Roque-Gageac, population 448, sits on a narrow strip of land between the Dordogne and a cliff that soaks up so much heat that an exotic garden thrives at the foot of the rock face. The village had 807 inhabitants in 1851, and in the 18th century its port saw some 200 gabares a year pass through, laden with timber and wine bound downstream. The cliff remains a threat: in 1957, a rockfall killed three people and destroyed six houses. Above the rooftops, the troglodyte fort reopened in 2020 after a decade of works; you climb up via stairs and walkways clinging to the rock face. At the water's edge, the Manoir de Tarde recalls the Tarde family, one of whom, the canon Jean Tarde, met Galileo. Today's gabares, replicas of the flat-bottomed boats of old, offer a guided trip of around fifty minutes towards Castelnaud and Beynac. The village is listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France.
Domme
Domme is a bastide founded in 1281 by King Philip III the Bold, on a plateau overlooking the Dordogne valley. With no flat ground to work with, its plan forms a trapezium following the edge of the cliff, whereas bastides are usually laid out on a grid. The 13th-century ramparts, protected since 1943, keep three gates, including the Porte des Tours with its two round towers; the graffiti attributed to Templars imprisoned there in 1307 are now hotly disputed by historians. Beneath the market hall opens a cave that sheltered the inhabitants during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. The highlight of the visit is the Barre, a clifftop promenade overlooking the Dordogne's meander, the Cingle de Montfort and, opposite, La Roque-Gageac. Domme, population 906, is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France; in summer, a little train saves you the climb from below, and the view over the valley is at its best late in the day.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three days are enough for Sarlat, its market and the five sites of the Dordogne valley. Five days let you add a canoe trip, Lascaux IV and the Vézère valley, or push on to Rocamadour and the Lot.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Sarlat and the Périgord Noir guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of France
weekend (2 days)
Day 1: Sarlat market on Saturday morning, lunch in town, a tour of the centre in the afternoon and a return after dark for the lit-up lanes. Day 2: Marqueyssac Gardens at opening time, La Roque-Gageac and a gabare in late morning, Château de Castelnaud in the afternoon, sunset from the Barre de Domme.
4-5 days
Day 1: Sarlat and its market. Day 2: Marqueyssac in the morning, Beynac in the afternoon. Day 3: canoe from Vitrac to Beynac in the morning, Castelnaud in the afternoon. Day 4: Domme, then La Roque-Gageac and its troglodyte fort. Day 5: Lascaux IV at Montignac, 25 km to the north, then Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère.
one week
Days 1 to 5 as above. Day 6: the Vézère valley, Les Eyzies and the National Museum of Prehistory, La Roque Saint-Christophe. Day 7: Rocamadour and the Gouffre de Padirac, an hour's drive to the east, or the Château des Milandes and its birds of prey if you would rather stay in the valley.
Getting there and getting around
From Paris-Montparnasse, the TGV reaches Bordeaux in just over two hours, then the TER runs up the Dordogne valley to Sarlat. Another option via Paris-Austerlitz: the Intercités to Souillac, then a connecting coach. By car, allow about 530 km via the A20 then the A89.
Once there, a car remains the most flexible option: the valley's sites are 10 to 20 minutes from Sarlat, but buses are rare. In July and August, village car parks charge and fill up from 11am. The greenway from Sarlat to Cazoulès lets you get around by bike without a car.
To link the villages without driving, canoes and the shuttles run by hire outfits in Vitrac, Cénac or La Roque-Gageac double as transport from one castle to the next. The valley roads are narrow and shared with bikes and camper vans: allow plenty of time.
Where to stay in Sarlat and the Périgord Noir?
Budget: several small hotels in central Sarlat, such as the Hôtel des Récollets or the Hôtel Saint-Albert, stay at around €70-80 a night outside August. The valley campsites, at Vitrac, Cénac or Domme, offer pitches and mobile homes by the river.
Comfort: between €110 and €150, Sarlat's characterful hotels, La Couleuvrine in a tower of the ramparts or the Hôtel Meysset up on the heights with a pool, let you do everything on foot in the evening. B&Bs in the hamlets around town often offer more space for a similar price.
Our pick: sleep on the banks of the Dordogne, at La Roque-Gageac or Carsac-Aillac, to watch the mist lift off the river before the visitors arrive. Book early for July and August, as the valley's best addresses are full by spring.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Sarlat and the Périgord Noir?
Duck is everywhere: foie gras, confit, magret, gizzards in the salade périgourdine, and pommes de terre sarladaises, potatoes sautéed in duck fat with garlic and parsley. The Périgord menus at the farm inns cost around €25-35.
The Périgord walnut has PDO status, as does cabécou, a small goat's cheese; black truffles are sold at markets from December to February and the Périgord strawberry arrives in spring. Wines from nearby Bergerac and Cahors go with the local cooking.
Also worth trying: tourin, a garlic soup, mique, ceps in autumn, walnut cake and walnut wine as an aperitif. At the Saturday market, producers are happy to let you taste before you buy.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Sarlat and the Périgord Noir
What are the market days in Sarlat?
Wednesday morning and all day Saturday in the medieval centre, Saturday being the bigger one. The covered market in the Sainte-Marie church rounds things off, an organic market is held on Thursday late afternoon on Place du 14-Juillet, and winter brings the truffle market and the marché au gras for foie gras and duck.
Can you visit the Dordogne valley without a car?
Partly. The train serves Sarlat, but the valley villages are not linked by frequent buses. A canoe trip with a shuttle, cycling on the greenway and taxis let you manage without, provided you accept a slower pace.
Beynac or Castelnaud: which should you choose?
Beynac for the view from the keep and the feel of a lived-in fortress, Castelnaud for its Museum of Medieval Warfare and its siege engines, which children love. Both are easy to visit on the same day, as they are only a few kilometres apart.
Do you need to book the Marqueyssac Gardens?
Not for a daytime visit, which needs no booking. Yes for the candlelit evenings on Thursdays in July and August, where numbers are limited and online booking is compulsory.
When is the best time to visit Sarlat?
May-June and September-October, when the sites are open, the river is navigable and the crowds are reasonable. July and August are hot and very busy. Winter is quiet and has the truffle and foie gras markets going for it, but several sites cut their opening hours or close.
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